Echo Park
Friday, December 26, 2008
Labels:
Echo Park,
gentrification
0
comments
Pico Union
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Labels:
Pico-Union
1 comments
(click to enlarge)
Oh yeah, street food rocks. Bacon-wrapped hot dog with mustard, mayo, ketchup, hot peppers, onion and bell peppers. -_- at him giving me the "american" price...had to ask him for the real deal in Spanish.
Architecture. The neighborhood has a rather healthy selection of older Tutor and Victorian-style single family homes, even if they are in varying states of decay. Lovely architectural bones and more importantly, proximity to hot spots such as Koreatown, Downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood have finally brung riches to this long blighted ethnic enclave.
dayhopping on the Metro
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Labels:
Pasadena,
south pasadena,
writing
1 comments
On the heels of a Jewish holiday (Yom Kippur), myself and a few friends (Hannah, Kevin and Seth) made the semi-lengthy trek to Pasadena, (a journey inclusive of the relatively new Metro Gold Line) a charming, white collar satellite city located Northeast of Los Angeles proper.
In addition to visiting the Old Town Pasadena district, colloquially called Paseo, we visited its younger, quainter ,more welcoming sister: South Pasadena. The place itself is a throwback, a trip within a trip; well manicured wooden buildings, lush foliage and quiet, intimate storefronts studded with age-old coffee shops, ice cream parlors and cozy cafes characterize South Pasadena. The aforementioned give it somewhat unique status in the Los Angeles region, for it's ambiance is more akin to a small Western town, than that or a burgeoning metropolis (only San Dimas really comes close, then again my SGV travels have been rather limited)
Part 1: catching the "flagship' Metro Rapid bus along Wilshire to the Wiltern Metro station. That bus is a joke. If you move the wrong way, or get jostled en route, you risk falling down. Worse, the person next to you had a bad night, and might start a fight with you over trivialities.
OK, we finally get to there, unfazed at the normal commute which is stressful in its own right.
The Wiltern Theatre. Seriously, this is the only successful application of the merger of 2 street names that actually sounds decent (Wilshire and Western).
In addition to visiting the Old Town Pasadena district, colloquially called Paseo, we visited its younger, quainter ,more welcoming sister: South Pasadena. The place itself is a throwback, a trip within a trip; well manicured wooden buildings, lush foliage and quiet, intimate storefronts studded with age-old coffee shops, ice cream parlors and cozy cafes characterize South Pasadena. The aforementioned give it somewhat unique status in the Los Angeles region, for it's ambiance is more akin to a small Western town, than that or a burgeoning metropolis (only San Dimas really comes close, then again my SGV travels have been rather limited)
Part 1: catching the "flagship' Metro Rapid bus along Wilshire to the Wiltern Metro station. That bus is a joke. If you move the wrong way, or get jostled en route, you risk falling down. Worse, the person next to you had a bad night, and might start a fight with you over trivialities.
OK, we finally get to there, unfazed at the normal commute which is stressful in its own right.
The Wiltern Theatre. Seriously, this is the only successful application of the merger of 2 street names that actually sounds decent (Wilshire and Western).
To ensure a safe journey, I made sure everybody was decked out with day passes.
This lady sells kufis (hand knitted hats) at the Metro station. A very nice lady, she always compliments my dreadlocks, LOL.
My only photo of Union Station. It's more of a connecting hub than a photo place, eh..
Some of the local architecture, it's worth noting Old Town Pasadena has a rather vast (impressive, too.) selection of art deco buildings.
Castle Green
Now, onto the 2nd leg of our journey: South Pasadena, courtesy the new Breda LRVs (light rail vehicle).
puff
We later went to Buster's, which by all means, is the quintessential South Pasadena ice cream shop. Doling out grade A ice cream, pastries, coffee and other baked goods, this place should be a no brainer for anybody in the area.
.
The banana split I got (well, me and Kevin split it). Homemade ice cream of Vanilla, Strawberry and Chocolate varieties
Afterwards, we went to the Farmer's Market. I loved it! So bohemian! So natural! Not too mention the selection of food, goods, people, etc was hydra-headed to say the least.
The cornhusker
make me banana pancakes..
sausages
couplet
Seth
Joel the Hipster.
Hannah Banana
Our ride home! While plenty of negatives can be said about Metro (dire delays, "colorful" characters on board, you never fully know where you're going, etc), it sure is a great way to humanize the city.
Castle Green
Now, onto the 2nd leg of our journey: South Pasadena, courtesy the new Breda LRVs (light rail vehicle).
puff
We later went to Buster's, which by all means, is the quintessential South Pasadena ice cream shop. Doling out grade A ice cream, pastries, coffee and other baked goods, this place should be a no brainer for anybody in the area.
.
The banana split I got (well, me and Kevin split it). Homemade ice cream of Vanilla, Strawberry and Chocolate varieties
Afterwards, we went to the Farmer's Market. I loved it! So bohemian! So natural! Not too mention the selection of food, goods, people, etc was hydra-headed to say the least.
The cornhusker
make me banana pancakes..
sausages
couplet
Seth
Joel the Hipster.
Hannah Banana
Our ride home! While plenty of negatives can be said about Metro (dire delays, "colorful" characters on board, you never fully know where you're going, etc), it sure is a great way to humanize the city.
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